Post updated March 15, 2022
This is my take on Newman’s Own Southwest Dressing Recipe. Just like McDonald’s southwest salad dressing you can make at home. It’s a tangy blend of spices combined to make a great salad.
On our way back to Minnesota from Florida, MaryJo and I make some quick stops for lunch. My favorite quick stop is McDonald’s to get a Southwest salad with grilled chicken.
McDonald’s is at every other interchange and you know what you are getting when you buy there.
I don’t know if you are familiar with this, but it is a big salad with greens, cilantro, corn, black beans, grated cheddar cheese, topped with spicy tortilla chips with a packet of Newman’s Own Southwest Restaurant Dressing.
It is a really delicious, low-calorie lunch which really hits the spot.
Thing is, Newman’s Own Southwest Dressing is not sold in stores. Bummer! The Southwest Dressing Recipe is a total secret and you can’t buy it.
Developing the Southwest Salad Dressing Recipe
While we were at one of the McDonald’s stops I told MaryJo that I should try to duplicate the recipe for the Southwest Dressing, so I took a picture of the ingredient label. Logical first step.
There were things like corn syrup solids, corn vinegar, cornstarch, whey, and sour cream powder. Curious ingredients. I’m sure that if you are Paul Newman you could call up friends and have this stuff delivered to your front step! No problem.
Well, I am Joe and not Paul and have no idea what this stuff is. So I experiment.
One of the ingredients is egg yolks mixed with soybean oil and cider vinegar. The egg yolks make the oil and vinegar mix together to make an emulsion that will not separate, (the old oil and water thing).
Well, I throw this together and added the spices I thought were in the dressing and made a pretty good likeness to the original, (not really). Then I make another blend. Not quite right.
By then I’m thinking that if I come up with a copycat recipe, it would contain uncooked eggs. That could mean…Salmonella city!
I went back to the store and bought pasteurized eggs. Turns out they are hard to separate, yolks and whites, but I got the job done. I then tried another spice blend and I was not close again.
The Solution…Use Mayonnaise!
MaryJo sensed my frustration and suggested that I use already processed oil, water, and eggs which makes…Mayonnaise. I thought. okay, I give up. Bring on the Hellman’s.
So, with a new sense of purpose and determination, I tried at least 5 more spice blends which required MaryJo to go to the store once and for me to go to the store once more, for spices that we would try and to get more sour cream since I used all that we had.
Finally, I found a blend of spices that worked and my Southwestern Dressing Recipe is pretty close to Paul’s. He must have spent a lot of time perfecting these recipes! His is exceptional but mine is dang good.
You can’t buy his dressing except at McDonald’s, or you can make your own which is nearly as good.
My recipe makes enough for two salads, but if you enjoy this southwest dressing recipe, feel free to double or triple the ingredients. It should store in the refrigerator for two or three weeks.
This recipe post was updated on December 9, 2021, and McDonald’s has discontinued making the Southwest salad. They also stopped selling salads in 2020 presumably because they were not that popular.
According to McDonald’s.com, they have Chicken Caesar Salad, Garden Salad, and Garden Salad with Crispy Chicken. According to my local restaurant, they don’t offer salads anymore.
I thought that it might be Covid that made them stop selling salads. This article from “Eat This, Not That” gives another explanation, which for a fast-food restaurant, makes sense.
They had to buy 2 different kinds of lettuce…one for sandwiches and one for salads.
So give my Southwest Dressing Recipe a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Hey. Did you make this recipe? Let me know how you liked it in the comments below. Take a photo of your creation and post it on your Instagram…tag @joeshealthymeals so I can take a look.
And here are a few more tasty recipes to try:
- Tex-Mex Chopped Chicken Salad
- Caramelized Onion Crostini with Mushrooms
- Jalapeno Potatoes au Gratin
- Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Smoked Salmon Appetizer with Arugula
- Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
Southwest Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 2 tsp light Karo syrup (agave or honey as substitutes)
- 1 tsp water (or more to thin)
- 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
- 1 tsp McCormick hot mexican style chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Salad
- Romaine lettuce
- cilantro
- red onion
- corn
- black beans
- grape tomatoes
- thin sliced carrot
- grated cheddar cheese
- Mrs. Cubbison's southwest flavor tortilla strips ,
Instructions
Dressing
- Whisk ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
- Place into an air-tight container and refrigerate to store.
Salad
- Assemble the salad to your liking and top with the dressing.
Notes
- The salad ingredient proportions are up to you. Corn and beans are a must. I added red onion because I like it. If you can't find the tortilla strips, (near salad croutons in the store), you could substitute spicy Dorito chips.
- This recipe makes 4 1/2 tbsp or approximately 2, 1 1/4 fl. oz. servings.
- To adjust the recipe to make a larger batch, click on the "2" in the servings in the header above and use the slider to increase the serving size.
- Nutrition information is for 1 serving of the salad dressing. Not the salad ingredients.
Nutrition
If you liked the Southwest dressing recipe, maybe you would like my Strawberry Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing
Mary Beth
Absolutely delicious! Adding this to my “regulars” as a go-to dressing for a quick and easy salad!
Vicki
I made this with yogurt instead of sour cream and substituted honey and it was amazing! Thanks so much for the great recipe! Kids loved it too.
Ashley van den Boogaard
Amazing! Exactly what I have been looking for. I like my taco salad dressing a little sweet and tangy and this was perfection!
Joe
Thank you Ashley.
Yuki
Hello, how long can this last in refrigerator after I make it? Thanks!
Joe
Yuki, it should be good for 2 or 3 weeks if it is kept in a tightly sealed container, but I’ll bet you would use it up before that time.
Grace
Turned out great! Also used as a dressing for pre-shredded, bagged coleslaw, and added beans, corn and cheese…. didn’t have lime juice, so subbed lemon juice, and that was fine too.
Joe
Thanks for the nice comment Grace.
May
I never have all the right ingredients, but still have to eat! I substituted plain greek yogurt for sour cream, jalapeño powder for cayenne, dried dill for cilantro. I’m not familiar with McCormick powder, so used my Spice House chili con carne spice. The dressing was great drizzled on steak & avocado salad, as well as nachos. Thank you for the recipe, and please forgive all the substitutions!
Joe
Hi May. In these trying times we have to improvise as best we can. Your combination sounds great. Thanks for coming to my site.
Jami
I only made the dressing but it was really good! Thanks!
Josie
Delicious dressing! I’ve never actually had Newman’s Own Southwest Dressing lol…but avocados are in season and a salad sounded really good, so here we are. I made a double batch just to make sure my husband and I had enough dressing for two big dinner salads. I used half the corn syrup and I think it’s sweet enough for me. Also only used half the cayenne pepper and it’s got a good kick but I wouldn’t want it spicier. Thanks for the recipe!
Mary
I am Canadian so there are no Southwest salads at Canadian McDonalds????????????????
I have made your dressing many times in many quantities and am asked to bring it to group events all the time. Thank you for doing all the experimenting! Not sure I would have that much patience!
Joe
Thanks Mary. I’m humbled by your comment.
Angie
I cannot thank you enough! For years I was so disappointed that I couldn’t actually buy this which is one of my all time favorite dressings. I just made it. PERFECT! Thank you so much kind sir!
Joe
Thanks Angie.
Alberta Corey
Delicious, and thanks for sharing. Easy to make and was spot on with the taste. This recipe is a keeper.
Joe
Thanks Alberta…glad you like it.
LaDonna
Wow you really did get that spice thing down. Brilliant recipe! Will use it often.
Joe
Thanks LaDonna!
Ed
Making it yourself you can tailor to your tastes. It is as good as Mr. Newman’s. I’m used agave, fresh cilantro and Kewpie mayonnaise. This recipe is a great discovery. Thanks for publishing it.
Joe
Thanks for finding my recipe Ed, and thanks for the nice comment. It’s very appreciated.
Denise
Thank you for all your hard work and sharing! This is delicious!
Joe
Thanks Denise!
Angie
I love the southwestern salad at McDonald’s. It’s the Only thing I eat from there. I hate that we can’t buy the dressing in the store.
Thanks for sharing. I do hate onions, so I’ll leave them out. ????
Joe
Hope you like the dressing Angie.
Lilia
I’ve never tasted Paul Newman’s but this was very good. I always regret adding sweetener to a recipe so I didn’t use it and it was fine. I subbed the sour cream for plain greek yogurt as that’s what I had on hand. I added a little bit of salt.
Dawn
Thank you! My 14 year old daughter loves this salad and knows I only make our salad dressings from scratch, so she searched and found this recipe. Big hit in our house. A keeper!
Joe
Thanks for the nice comment Dawn.
Christine Eastman
Just made your salad dressing. I didn’t have sour cream so i melted cream cheese in its stead. I used half fresh and half dried cilantro. It came out fantastic!! I love the Paul Newman’s now i can make it at home thanks to you!! It is delicious. Thanks again for your recipe.
Joe
Thanks for the comment Christine. Glad you like it.
Beth
I can’t wait to try this! I’m also wondering if you’ve attempted the other sauce that’s already in the salad before adding dressing. It’s kind of a clearish color. And the corn/bean mixture seems to have some kind of sauce with it too. All I know is that salad has SO MUCH FLAVOR. I’m going to start working on building this salad at home, for sure. Thank you!
Sandy H.
Thanks for making me a hero at dinner tonight! We loved this dressing. I topped the salad with cilantro lime marinated chicken. This is a real keeper! Thanks!
Joe
Thanks for the comment Sandy. Glad you liked it.
Jayme
Absolutely awesome recipe! Thanks!! I added a little bit of smoked paprika. Yum!!!!
Joe
Thanks Jayme. Glad you liked it.